Twin Villages waste water board convenes

WEST CARTHAGE  Carthage and West Carthage will begin the process of upgrading the joint wastewater treatment plant, using a $30,000 state grant.

The grant will be used to identify options for upgrading the plant. The Carthage/West Carthage Water Pollution Control Facilities management board agreed at its meeting Wednesday to commit to the required 20 percent matching funds.

The board received funding through the state Environmental Facilities Corp. in conjunction with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The joint municipal board received the maximum grant to provide for engineering services.

Carrie M. Tuttle, director of engineering for the Development Authority of the North Country, which oversees the treatment plant, said she has begun developing a request for proposals for engineering on the project.

Ms. Tuttle also said she continues to work on DEC consent order compliance requirements with Climax Paperboard and Packaging. In August, acting on a consent order from DEC, the joint board issued its own consent order against Climax. According to DEC, Climax violated terms of a discharge permit when wastewater from the paper manufacturer had higher pH or acidity levels than acceptable.

Increased pH levels throw off water treatment, a problem that costs money to correct.

Once a settlement is reached with the manufacturer, Ms. Tuttle said, she plans to revise the significant industrial user permits for all five industries that use the treatment plant.

The board also gave its approval to have a DANC services agreement to proceed with upgrades to Climaxs monitoring station signed by the board chairman, Michael F. Astafan, once the consent order settlement is finalized.

The engineer also said the municipal facility did not violate any of its state pollutant discharge elimination system permit limits for December. However, Climax had pH violations in December and was issued a notice of violation.

Climax responded with an email notification stating they were still working out some of the control issues with their pH neutralization system, Ms. Tuttle said. Climax also had a break in a line and notified DEC and the plant.

Ms. Tuttle is working on drafting standard operating reports and procedures for operation of the plant.

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